


Restore

by wickedlupin



Category: Tales of Xillia
Genre: Healing, Injury, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:02:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23252887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wickedlupin/pseuds/wickedlupin
Summary: No matter how many times Ludger is knocked down, Jude is always there to help him back up.
Relationships: Jude Mathis/Ludger Will Kresnik
Comments: 9
Kudos: 34





	Restore

Ludger couldn’t seem to stay on his feet. Even strictly using long-range attacks, the Exoplasma just kept multiplying and knocking him down from all sides. The hard, packed dirt ground was ruthless every time Ludger met it. His sleeves were bloodied from where he had skinned his elbows and forearms trying to break his fall, and he had a nice gooey, dirty scrape under his eye from the one time he had actually face planted. He had hit the ground twenty, thirty times by now, but every time he did, Jude was at his side to help him back up.

This was why he liked linking with Jude. Of course, everyone had their share of usefulness when they linked. With most of their party, Ludger might say he felt more physically powerful than with what Jude had to offer. But when he linked with Jude, he felt cared for. The grip of Jude’s hand pulling him up from the ground gave him a greater surge of power than anything the others could grant him.

This fight was getting ridiculous, though. Ludger was spending more time on the ground than he was getting any hits in, and that pulled Jude’s attention from the fight, too. The long, solid purple limbs had fractured several of Ludger’s ribs, most of which Jude had healed-- but at the rate he was sustaining injuries, Jude couldn’t keep up. He had to prioritize larger wounds. Leia and Alvin seemed to be having better luck, but with only the two of them able to do any real damage, the battle was looking to be a long one.

“Try shooting it!” Ludger heard Elle’s voice from far off, crouched on the edge of one of the higher cliffs of Labari Hollow, out of harm’s way.

“I’m _trying_ ,” Ludger muttered as he managed to dodge a blow possibly for the first time since they tracked down the big purple beast. He fired a few rounds, and finally felt like he gained the upper hand. With himself and Jude actually able to participate, they were starting to make a bit of progress in weakening the beast.

Sweat dripped down Ludger’s nose and made his hair stick to his forehead. Surely they almost had it. Just a little bit more.

A little more…

A long, purple limb caught him just before he could block, and sent him flying backward into the cliff side.

He felt his shoulder pop and crunch, and the world momentarily disappeared around him. Distantly, he could hear Elle’s shouts over the continuing battle, but the sounds were sort of muffled—he couldn’t make out any words. One word cut through all the murkiness around him, and rang in his ears--

“Ludger!”

Jude’s voice.

When he opened his eyes, Jude’s face was inches from his own, and his mana surrounded him in the form of a small healing circle. He immediately saw to his shoulder, his hand hovering over it until it eased back into place. Ludger hissed as his breath returned to him, brought back by the soft green glow of Jude’s healing artes.

“You okay?” Jude asked him, extending his gloved hand to Ludger yet again.

Ludger took his hand, and a surge of confidence, or perhaps recklessness, rushed into him as the oxygen returned to his brain. Instead of pulling himself up, he pulled Jude down and locked their lips together. Jude almost lost his balance, and his other hand landed on Ludger's shoulder to catch himself. His grip on Ludger’s hand tightened.

Jude’s lips were soft and smooth, in contrast to his calloused palms and bruised knuckles concealed beneath his bracers. Jude wasn’t a fighter, and yet here he was, fighting an elite monster for _Ludger’s_ sake, so they could all earn money to pay off _Ludger’s_ twenty-million gald debt.

Their faces parted, and all the noise of the battle returned to Ludger’s ears at full volume. Jude remained leaning over him, his eyes searching Ludger’s in surprise. Ludger wanted to ignore the big purple monster in his peripheral in order to focus on the deep blush that had spread over Jude’s face, but he supposed they couldn’t leave _everything_ to their teammates.

“Let’s finish this,” Ludger said, pushing down his slight embarrassment and instead drawing more power from the sudden confidence Jude had given him. Jude’s grip on his hand tightened again, and pulled him to his feet. Jude’s vaguely lost, puzzled expression transformed into one of assurance to match Ludger’s.

“Let’s show ‘em!”

Their link seemed to gain power—they were perfectly in sync. Every shot that Ludger landed was matched with a blow from Jude, and at last, the chaotic purple mass of limbs crumpled.

All four of them waited with weapons at the ready for another beast to appear, but after several moments of stillness, they decided the battle was won, and they all crumpled themselves. Leia fell right into the dirt with legs spread out in front of her, her staff discarded at her side. “That was just too much!” She complained. “I think we need to get stronger before we take on another one!”

“Maybe if you’d focus more on healing, Jude and Ludger could have helped us out a little sooner,” Alvin jabbed, breaking off a nice, sizable antennae as a trophy to turn in for their reward.

Ludger tuned out the rest of their halfhearted argument. Jude’s arms were braced on his thighs, catching his breath. Ludger hesitated for only a moment, then reached out and pushed Jude’s shoulder affectionately. “Hey, thanks,” he said.

Jude lifted his head, but whatever he had to say was cut off by Elle’s shouting as she ran toward them. “Number eight is crossed off the list!” she yelled excitedly. “That’ll get us a ton of gald!”

  


* * *

  
  
It seemed to take an eternity to make it back to Xian Du, and even longer to check into the inn after they stopped by the job posting to claim their gald. By the time they had rejoined with the rest of their party and had a meal, Ludger was practically falling asleep at the table.

Of course, Jude was the first to notice, while everyone else recounted their day’s adventures over emptied plates. He put a hand on Ludger’s shoulder and stood from his seat. “We’ll head up to the rooms first,” he said. “That fight earlier really took it out of us.”

Alvin gave them both a sly look across the table. “Yeah, I’m sure something else took it out of you too. Get it, kid.”

“Huh?!” Ludger stood up quickly and felt his face heat up, while Jude sputtered behind him.

“Don’t say weird things!”

“Oh please, enough already,” Milla complained, rolling her eyes. “I’m tired of seeing you talk about each other like blushing schoolgirls. Get on with it already!”

Jude made a sort of panicked, embarrassed sound, and grabbed Ludger’s hand. “C’mon, Ludger.”

“I’ll go too!” Elle piped up, but Rowen placed a steady hand on her shoulder.

“Why don’t you stay here with us, young miss? You’ll be missing out on a grand time with us if you retire early.”

Elle’s eyes glowed with wonder and excitement. “You mean like a party?”

“That’s right!” Elize joined in, clapping her hands together. “We’ll have a little party, to celebrate our eighth elite monster defeated!”

“That sounds awesome!” Elle kicked her legs excitedly under the table. “Will we have a cake?! My Daddy can make the _best_ cake...”

Ludger didn’t wait around to hear the end of their conversation. Grateful for the distraction Rowen had provided for them, he hurried up the stairs after Jude. Neither of them spoke until they reached their room and unlocked the door. Jude’s shoulders slumped, visibly relieved to be free of an uncomfortable situation. He glanced at Ludger, who still stood by the door, and smiled.

“You’re still sore from earlier, aren’t you? That monster threw you back pretty hard.”

Ludger rubbed the back of his head. “I’m fine. Thanks to you, I didn’t keep many injuries.”

Jude smiled in his soft, knowing way. “Lay down, I’ll heal you some more.”

“You don’t have to—really, Jude, you’ve done enough.”

Jude sighed. “Just lay down, Ludger.”

He finally complied, laying down on top of the sheets. Jude stood over him, hands hovering over Ludger’s body, feeling for any injuries. Soft light appeared beneath his palms whenever he found one, engulfing Ludger in calming warmth.

He never knew much about mana, being an Elympion, but being healed by Jude in this way was an incredibly personal experience—especially now, when the gloves and bracers were off. His gaze focused on the light bruises on his knuckles, and the lightly toned muscles of his forearms that peeked out from beneath his lab coat.

“Thanks for always having my back when they knock me down,” he said sort of mindlessly.

“Of course,” Jude answered, his gaze still focused on the light emanating from his calloused palms. “I’ll always be there to help you up.” His amber eyes met Ludger’s for a brief moment. “…Physically _or_ metaphorically.”

Ludger felt warmth spread through his soul—whether from the healing or from Jude’s words, he wasn’t sure. “Yeah. Thanks for that, too.”

“You do the same for me. Somehow, it’s like you always know what I’m thinking… you know exactly what I need. I’m extremely grateful to you.” Ludger grabbed Jude’s hand. The healing light slowly faded as Jude’s full attention shifted. He smiled, and leaned against the bedside. “See? Just like now.”

Ludger caught the way Jude’s eyes flicked to his lips, the way his fingers tightened their grip just slightly, and the overall hesitance in his features. It wasn’t necessarily nervousness. Ludger wouldn’t consider Jude a nervous person, but more overly-considerate. Ludger felt it, too, now that the adrenaline of battle was gone. They were both worried about overstepping some boundary, even though it was already crossed mere hours ago.

Ludger propped himself up on his elbows and extended one hand up to Jude’s face. His fingertips met the soft hair behind his ear, and Jude leaned forward just so that their foreheads touched, resting there against one another.

“I feel the same way,” Ludger murmured. He tried to make eye contact, but with Jude so close, the amber eyes in front of him were out of focus. “You always know just what I need. So make sure you take what you want, too. There’s no need to second guess yourself.”

Jude chuckled softly. “Were you following your own advice back there? You really surprised me.”

Ludger choked on his words for a moment, heat spreading over his cheeks. “I’m full of surprises.”

“That’s another thing I like about you.” Jude’s lips very softly brushed Ludger’s. There was no sign of hesitance now, but merely the overall gentleness that encompassed Jude. Ludger matched him, sliding his hand on Jude’s face around to the back of his head, fingers lightly entwining in his shaggy hair.

Jude took the light touch as a sign and moved in just a bit more fully. His hand carefully rested on Ludger’s chest, and Ludger suddenly became aware of his quickening heart rate.

Jude smiled against his lips. “Are you nervous?”

“No. Excited.”

Jude’s breath tickled Ludger’s face as he chuckled. “Me too.”

Ludger sat up the rest of the way-- Jude moved to accommodate him-- and patted the mattress in front of him. He needn’t say more, Jude crawled up onto the bed and sat on his knees.

Ludger leaned in to kiss him again, and Jude lifted himself up to reach him better. There was an awkward amount of space between them now, requiring them both to lean forward over Ludger’s crossed legs and nearly lose balance. It made the kiss sort of uncomfortable, too. They kept bumping noses in their effort not to fall over. Jude finally grunted in frustration and inched forward on his knees, placing a hand on Ludger’s thigh.

“Mind if I sit here?”

Ludger placed a hand on Jude’s back, quietly encouraging him to come closer. “Go ahead.”

Jude straddled his lap, and Ludger’s mind raced, realizing too late that this could turn into a problem, depending on how far Jude would want to go, and how long they had before the rest of their party finally came up to bed.

He decided that was a problem for future Ludger.

He kissed Jude again, and this time they fit together perfectly, chests flush against one another. Ludger wasn’t quite sure where he ended and where Jude began. It felt sort of like when Jude healed him, except a lot stronger. And a lot better.

Jude put his arms around Ludger’s neck, one hand wrapping around to rub the opposite shoulder, and the other weaving up into his hair. Jude’s hands were like little balls of heat, providing him everything he wanted in two neat little packages-- maybe that was a weird way of putting it.

Ludger stopped letting his mind wander, and focused instead on exactly the way Jude’s touches felt. The hair on the back of his neck stood up as Jude very carefully grazed his teeth over Ludger’s bottom lip. His hands moved instinctually to Jude’s hips, fingers finding his belt loops and pulling him closer-- though they were already as close as they could physically get.

Jude sucked in a sharp breath and pulled his face away about an inch.

“Okay?” Ludger asked. Jude nodded quickly, rubbing his thumb over the dips in Ludger’s shoulder.

“Yeah. Really good, actually.”

Jude’s lab coat slipped off his shoulder, almost like an invitation. Ludger nuzzled his way past Jude’s shirt collar and kissed the skin there. It was salty from the sweat that had dried there, but soft and smooth beneath the light grime.

“I haven’t bathed…” Jude protested, but he leaned his head to the side, giving Ludger better access to his neck.

“Neither have I,” Ludger mumbled. His breath carried over Jude’s skin, and they both dropped the subject, as Jude gathered the back of Ludger’s shirt in his fists.

Ludger let his hands explore as he worked on tasting every inch of Jude’s neck, carrying on down to his collarbones, as far as his t-shirt would allow. He slid his hands under the fabric at his waist, fingers spreading over his lower back.

“Ludger…” Jude breathed. It was almost a whine, his back arching where Ludger’s fingers brushed. Taking a guess at what might satisfy him, Ludger bit softly into Jude’s shoulder.

Jude’s reaction told him he had guessed correctly. He sank his teeth in a little deeper before he released the skin, licking the indent he had left to soothe it. Jude shivered, his breathing slightly ragged now.

He was sure if he saw Jude’s face now, he would lose it. He kept himself occupied for a bit longer, kissing just under his jaw, until his curiosity got the better of him, and he pulled back to sneak a peek. Jude’s lips were parted, head tilted back and to the side with his eyes closed. It wasn’t uncommon to see Jude blushing, but this was on a whole other level-- his face was tomato red. Ludger only caught a glimpse before Jude opened his eyes, licking his lips as he took a deep breath through his nose.

And Ludger was right: he lost it. His arms around Jude’s waist tightened. He leaned forward to lay Jude down on the sheets, his lips urgently finding Jude’s again, fingertips sinking into the skin at his waist. Jude’s hands slid from Ludger’s back, over his shoulders to hold his face, his knees coming up on either side of his waist.

Ludger took Jude’s bottom lip between his own and sucked sort of roughly, and Jude moaned into his mouth. It sent a chill down Ludger’s spine, and he slid down to drop hot, open-mouthed kisses on Jude’s neck again, desperate to hear more.

Jude tilted his head back, and he absently tugged at Ludger’s suspenders, perhaps in some attempt to undress him. They were both too occupied, and too tired to do the job properly. To Ludger’s dismay, he felt his body start to slow down. His mouth on Jude’s throat grew less urgent, and more lethargic. Jude’s hands on his back became less distracted, and more attentive and comforting.

Oh, yeah. Ludger had forgotten he was fucking wiped.

His body relaxed against Jude’s, and his kisses slowed to a stop entirely as Jude’s fingers tenderly combed through his hair. Ludger hummed and placed one more soft kiss on Jude’s collarbone.

Jude chuckled, his voice full of fondness. “You should rest, Ludger.”

“Don’t want to,” Ludger protested, voice muffled against Jude’s shoulder.

“If you don’t get proper rest, all the healing I did won’t take as much effect.”

Ludger sighed and relented, rolling onto his side. Jude rolled with him, then propped himself up on one elbow, combing Ludger’s hair out of his eyes with his fingers.

“They’re keeping Elle out awfully late, aren’t they?” Jude mused. Ludger hummed in agreement, his eyes drifting shut as Jude’s touch lulled him to comfortable unconsciousness.

  


* * *

  
  
Ludger jumped awake when the door to their room was thrown open and bounced against the wall, accompanied by a deep, panicked “ _Elle, no!_ ”

“I knew it!” Elle’s voice resounded, and Ludger rubbed his hands over his face, trying to come back to reality.

“Wow, you were right, Elle,” Milla said smugly, her arms crossed above the eight year old’s head. “They _are_ sharing a bed.”

Gaius loomed behind them, his eyebrows pulled together in concern. He seemed relieved that the two of them _clothed_ in bed together was the most interesting thing for Milla to point out.

Jude sat up sleepily, rubbing the back of his head. “What’s the big deal? We’ve all shared a bed before.”

“No! Whenever I’m in Ludger’s room, he sleeps on the floor and lets me have the whole bed to myself!” Elle shouted, stamping her foot.

Jude laughed into his hand. “That’s awfully nice of him, isn’t it?” Ludger was still rubbing his eyes, trying to get his brain working so he could formulate words.

“...Yeah. I guess so.” Elle’s voice lowered in volume, but her pout stayed in place, her shoulders drooping slightly.

Jude smiled, tilting his head in that fond, knowing way he did with the people close to him. “Elle, do you want to sleep in bed with us?”

The eight year old couldn’t hide the hopeful glint in her eye as she looked at Ludger. “Can I?”

Ludger nodded and patted the bed between himself and Jude. Elle nearly ran over, kicking off her shoes and leaving them haphazardly strewn at the bedside, and hopped right into the middle of the bed. Ludger caught a glimpse of Milla shutting the door-- and for a brief moment, he thought he noticed a sort of sadness about her. Elle’s little elbow jabbed into Ludger’s side and pulled him from his thoughts. He tried to move closer to the edge of the bed to make room for her, but he found there was no more bed left to scoot to.

They all shifted and adjusted and tried to find room enough to be comfortable. The bed was small enough when it was just the two of them-- now they were essentially just a pile of limbs. Maybe if Ludger wasn’t so exhausted, he’d be frustrated. His arm ended up trapped underneath Elle, but from the other side of the bed, Jude’s fingers intertwined with his. The rhythmic breathing of two sets of lungs was surprisingly comforting, and it took much less time than he anticipated for him to ease right back into sleep.


End file.
